Nanolithography system

ABSTRACT

A nanolithography system comprising a novel optical printing head suitable for high throughput nanolithography. This optical head enables a super-resolution lithographic exposure tool that is otherwise compatible with the optical lithographic process infrastructure. The exposing light is transmitted through specially designed super-resolution apertures, of which the “C-aperture” is one example, that create small but bright images in the near-field transmission pattern. A printing head comprising an array of these apertures is held in close proximity to the wafer to be exposed. In one embodiment, an illumination source is divided into parallel channels that illuminate each of the apertures. Each of these channels can be individually modulated to provide the appropriate exposure for the particular location on the wafer corresponding to the current position of the aperture. A data processing system is provided to re-interpret the layout data into a modulation pattern used to drive the individual channels. In one embodiment of the invention, the exposure head remains stationary while the material to be exposed rotates beneath the head. Such an embodiment comprises a circular data fracturing system to process the layout data to determine the correct modulation pattern.

RELATED INVENTIONS

The invention disclosed in this herein claims the benefit under 35 USC119(e) of Provisional Patent Application 60/718,038, entitled WRITINGHEAD FOR NANOLITHOGRAPHY, filed Sep. 15, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A lithography system for the fabrication of microdevices, as illustratedin FIG. 1, generally comprises a light source 100, an illuminationsystem 110, a reticle (sometimes called a mask or photomask) 130, a lenssystem 140, and a stage 145 to hold a semiconductor wafer 150. Light 102from the source 100 is directed by the illumination system 110 onto thereticle 130, and the lens 140 collects the light from the reticle andforms an image on the wafer 150. The wafer is coated with aphotosensitive material, called a photoresist, and after exposure andsuitable development, the pattern of the image is converted into apattern in the photoresist, used to control subsequent manufacturingsteps.

These imaging systems, although capable of achieving resolutions assmall as a quarter to a third of the wavelength used for exposure, arestill limited by diffraction phenomena and the ability of the lens tocollect enough light emerging from the photomask. For state-of-the-artsystems, λ=193 nm, and therefore with conventional lens aperture(NA=0.93), the ultimate resolution that can be achieved is approximatelyL=0.25 λ/NA=52 nm. Optical systems capable of producing smallerfeatures, usually through near-field or evanescent phenomena, areconsidered “super-resolution” patterning systems.

For the fabrication of smaller features using conventional lithographicprocessing techniques, a shorter wavelength must be used. Such solutionsare possible, but have practical limitations. For shorter opticalwavelengths, (λ<185 nm), oxygen in the air absorbs the photon energy, asdoes quartz, the normal lens fabrication material. Vacuum systems andreflective optics can be used, and have been demonstrated for systemsusing plasma induced Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) radiation at λ=13 nm.However, no conventional light sources at 13 nm exist, and generatingenough photons and fabricating masks and lenses using multilayerreflectors (which typically have 70% reflection efficiency) provides aneconomically unattractive solution.

Electron beams can also be used. 50 keV electrons have a λ=0.001 nm,certainly small enough to resolve small features, and electron beamimaging systems, operating again in a vacuum, have been constructed andused to fabricate features near atomic dimensions. However, unlikephotons, electrons are charged, and in high enough densities, repel eachother, causing image distortion. This has proven an insurmountableproblem for electron projection lithography, and most electron beamsystems are serial—exposing a single spot at a time with a single beam.Furthermore, with each electron accelerated to an energy of 50 keV, thedose needed to exposure resist can be provided by only a few hundredelectrons, making statistical shot noise a problem for exposureuniformity.

Smaller resolution is not the only problem facing contemporary ICpatterning. The complex masks enabling sub-wavelength exposure can bevery expensive, due to the complex processes needed to fabricate themand their generally low yield. Although ICs to be produced in largevolume can absorb these costs, low volume ICs and prototypes (which aregenerally discarded, not sold) suffer from the costs and delays inreliably producing advanced photomasks. Such projects, which may see lowor no return on the investment, would benefit from a fabricationtechnique which is both rapid and inexpensive.

To achieve fabrication of features smaller than 40 nm, especially whenlarge numbers of features are desired simultaneously at dense pitches,as in a conventional IC, there is therefore a need for a direct-write,or “Maskless” high resolution lithography system. The need for these isgreatest for low volume and prototype applications.

Ideally, such a maskless system would be compatible with theconventional optical infrastructure currently deployed in IC fabs.Ideally, such a system could be used with throughputs comparable toconventional exposure tools. If feasible, the exposures should also beverified as they are being written, as there is no mask that can beinspected (as in “conventional” 1C manufacture, to guarantee that thepattern data has been accurately transcribed.

One proposed maskless system uses parallel electron beam writers, suchas the MAPPER system proposed by MAPPER Lithography of the Netherlands.This is illustrated in FIG. 2. In this system, an electron beam 202 isemitted from an electron source 200, and electron steering electronics210 divide this beam into as many as 13,000 parallel electron beamchannels. These are guided by electron lenses 220 towards the wafer 250to be exposed. At the wafer exposure occurs by raster scanning the beamsusing the final beam controllers 240. En route, each beam passes throughan aperture 232 in an aperture plate 230, where individual signals fromblanking electronics 264 modulate the individual electron beams. Theseblanking electronics 264 are directed using signals passed over opticalfibers 262, in turn driven directly by a data processing system 260using the IC layout data. The layout data directing the blankers issynchronized with the wafer stage position so that exposure matches thecorrect dose for that particular wafer location.

This can work in principle, since the individual electron beams canprovide the resolution, and the parallel channels provide the speed. Inpractice, this system is prone to jitter and thermal instability, andsince the energy associated with each electron is so high, shot noiseremains an issue. Special e-beam materials must also be used, and arenot those currently used in a conventional optical lithography process,which leads to compatibility issues when inserted into a contemporaryfab.

Optical maskless systems driven directly by layout data have also beenproposed. Such a system is illustrated in FIG. 3. These systems aresimilar to conventional optical lithography systems, in that they alsohave light 302 emitted by a source 300, which is then shaped by anillumination system 310. The final imaging is also accomplished by alens system 340, which forms an image of a “mask” 330 onto a wafer 350mounted in a stage 345. However, here a conventional optical mask isreplaced by a dynamic mask 330 comprising reflecting elements 332, andthe light from the source is usually directed to the dynamic reflectingmask 330 using a beamsplitter 315 designed into the optical system. Thereflecting system elements 332 of the dynamic mask 330 in turn comprisemany individually driven MEMS devices, with individual elements drivenwith signals corresponding to pixels in the layout pattern. These MEMSdevices can be an array of micromirrors, tilting at various angles tomodulate the reflected light, or small elements that move in and out,sometimes called a piston mirror configuration, that modulates the phaseof the reflected light. The settings of the individual pixels are drivenby a data processing system 360 that sends signals derived from the IClayout through connectors 362 to circuitry 364 on the active mask 330,which sets the mirrors appropriately. The individual pixels of themicromirror array (typically comprising 1028×1028 micromirrors) or thepiston array are usually 20× to 200× larger than the correspondingpixels on the wafer, and the lens system has components 320 that aredesigned to reduce the image appropriately.

A single array is typically far too small to represent the entire layoutof an IC at once. Instead, the layout data must be split into tilesrepresenting sub-sections of the layout that are passed in sequence tothe array for exposure. The final image is then stitched together usingmultiple exposures of the pattern data onto the wafer 350, with thewafer stage 345 moving in a manner synchronized with the transmission ofdata to the dynamic reflecting array. A transmitting element, such as aliquid crystal light valve or array of thin film transistors can also beused to provide a similarly dynamic mask with either reflecting ortransmitting pixels.

These systems have the advantage of using conventional optical or UVwavelengths, and therefore the infrastructure of optical materials andprocess knowledge and experience can be leveraged to make the adoptionof this technology less disruptive. However, since conventional lensdesigns and materials are used, such systems are therefore subject tothe same resolution limitations as conventional optical lithography.

There is therefore a need for an exposure system capable of writingextremely small, “super-resolution” patterns, that is patterns withfeatures sizes smaller than the resolution obtainable by conventionaloptical lithography, that is also compatible with the processinfrastructure currently in place in IC fabrication facilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

We present here a nanolithography system comprising a novel opticalprinting head suitable for high throughput nanolithography. This opticalhead enables a super-resolution lithographic exposure tool that isotherwise compatible with the optical lithographic processinfrastructure. The exposing light is transmitted through speciallydesigned super-resolution apertures, of which the “C-aperture” is oneexample, that create small but bright images in the near-fieldtransmission pattern. A printing head comprising an array of theseapertures is held in close proximity to the wafer to be exposed. In oneembodiment, an illumination source is divided into parallel channelsthat illuminate each of the apertures. Each of these channels can beindividually modulated to provide the appropriate exposure for theparticular location on the wafer corresponding to the current positionof the aperture. A data processing system is provided to re-interpretthe layout data into a modulation pattern used to drive the individualchannels.

LIST OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an illustration of a typical configuration for a prior artprojection lithography system.

FIG. 2 shows an illustration of a prior art maskless lithography systemusing parallel electron beams.

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of a prior art maskless lithography systemusing a mask of micromirrors and that exposes wafers using opticallithography.

FIG. 4 shows a prior art C-aperture.

FIG. 5 shows a number of geometric shapes for apertures which have beendemonstrated to have super-resolution capabilities.

FIG. 6 shows a layout for a 1-D array of super-resolution aperturesarranged to form a configuration for a nanolithography writing head,according to the invention.

FIG. 7 a shows a writing head with super-resolution aperturesilluminated by beams of light according to the invention.

FIG. 7 b shows a cross section of a writing head with super-resolutionapertures according to the invention.

FIG. 8 shows a layout for a 2-D array of super-resolution aperturesarranged to form a configuration for a nanolithography writing head,according to the invention.

FIG. 9 shows a layout of a 1-D array of super-resolution aperturesarranged to form a configuration for a nanolithography writing head withadditional features to isolate individual apertures, according to theinvention.

FIG. 10 shows a scanning plan for exposing a wafer using the 1-D arraylayout of FIG. 6, according to the invention.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the illuminationsystem for each of the super-resolution apertures comprises waveguides.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the free spacepropagation illuminates each super-resolution aperture.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the height controlfor the separation of a super-resolution aperture and the material to beexposed is provided using AFM tips.

FIG. 14 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the height controlfor the separation of a super-resolution aperture and the material to beexposed is provided using interferometers.

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the material to beexposed rotates underneath the nanolithography writing head.

FIG. 16 show a schematic diagram of a fracturing system according to theinvention that converts conventional IC data into modulation signals fora nanolithography system in which the material to be exposed rotatesbeneath a writing head with super-resolution apertures.

FIG. 17 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which anadditional light source having a longer wavelength is included forconducting diagnostic tests on the material during exposure.

FIG. 18 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the modulation isprovided by an array of micromirrors.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Writer Head.

Super-resolution systems are not in and of themselves new.Sub-wavelength apertures have been designed for several applications,notably near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) and opticalrecording. However, a particular sub-resolution aperture, often called aC-aperture, has been demonstrated to have extraordinary super-resolutionproperties, and has particular properties that can be useful forlithography.

FIG. 4 shows a C-aperture 400. These have been described previously inpublications from the Hesselink group at Stanford University, and U.S.patent application Ser. Nos. 10/877,220 and 10/845,781. A “typical”C-aperture has two arms 410 and a connecting back 420. The dimensionsfor arm length A, back height B and arm width W and back width C. Forthe C-aperture plotted in FIG. 4 for use at λ=1000 nm, are A=220 nm,B=300 nm, and W=100 nm and C=100 nm. Dimensions can be proportionatelyscaled for use with other wavelengths, i.e. for λ=193 nm, A=42.5 nm,B=57.9 nm, W=C=19.3 nm.

The super-resolution spots from a C-aperture can be as small as λ/10.But, when compared to a square aperture of similar open area, theC-aperture has been demonstrated to have a transmission that is ordersof magnitude greater. This is generally believed to be related to theelectrical excitation of currents in the material around the arms of theaperture. The electrical conductivity of the material around theaperture is therefore a factor in the performance. For some materialsand apertures, a resonance formed by surface plasmons can occur,enhancing the properties of the aperture. For other configurations,non-plasmonic resonances have been observed. The spots formed aretherefore not only super-resolution, i.e. small, but alsoextraordinarily bright. Brightness improvements of 10³ to 10⁶ have beenobserved for C-apertures under certain circumstances. Although severaldefinitions of a super-resolution aperture with extraordinarytransmission can be used, we will consider a super-resolution aperturewith extraordinary transmission to be one in which the transmission isat least a factor of 2 larger when compared with either a squareaperture of the same area, or a circular aperture of the same area.

The geometry and proportions of the aperture are also a factor, but sometolerance is allowed. The C-apertures need not maintain these exactdimensions or proportions. The widths of the arms need not be equal, andthey need not equal the width of the back. The arms can be longer orshorter than the back, as shown in FIG. 5. For some cases, a bowtieaperture, also shown in FIG. 5, has been shown to have similarsuper-resolution capabilities. Again, the two sides of the bow-tie maytouch, or may be separated by a small amount of opaque material, andneed not be symmetric or perfectly aligned to still function as asuper-resolution aperture. Apertures with other structures may also bediscovered which have extraordinarily high transmissivity. In general,although the previously described “C”-apertures may have certainbeneficial super-resolution properties, the invention can be practicedwith a number of super-resolution aperture designs that may becomeapparent to those skilled in the art, as long as the transmissionthrough the aperture is a factor of 2 or larger than either a comparablesquare or circular aperture having the same opening area.

A nanowriter with a writing architecture using a single C-aperture canbe formed using a configuration similar to a near-field scanning opticalmicroscope (NSOM). Demonstrations of nanowriters using NSOM systems havebeen made, although none are know to have used a C-aperture. Such asystem could be created by taking a fiber optic element, coating the endwith the suitable conducting material such aluminum, silver, or gold,using a sputtering system or other deposition method, and then using atool such as a programmable focused ion beam (FIB) system to selectivelymill away material near the transmitting core of the fiber, leaving aC-aperture shaped opening. Another method of creating a C-aperture onthe fiber tip is to further coat the end with a photoresist or anelectron beam (E-beam) resist, and then expose the resist to a suitabledose of photons or E-beams in the shape of a C-aperture, followed byprocessing the resist to clear resist in the shape of the aperture andthen etching the underlying conducting material so revealed.

The final step is the removal of the remaining resist once the etchinghas occurred. Other means to pattern the coated tip of the fiber will beknown to those skilled in the art.

This can produce a fiber which has both a super-resolution spot and highrelative transmission. However, writing the volume of data required foran IC with a single writing head would be extremely time consuming.

As an example, assume there are 6 contact holes for a single transistorin a layout. For a contemporary design with 100 million transistors, thenumber of contact holes would be 600 million. If exposure of a spot inphotoresist requires a typical exposure dose-to-clear of 50 mJ/cm²(typical for Novalak resists used with λ=365 nm), a single 32 nmdiameter contact can be written using 1 μW of transmitted power in 0.4μsec. Addressing all contacts serially will therefore consume 240 sec inexposure time alone. Beyond this, additional time is required for stagemotion between contact exposures. Assuming at least 250 IC fields perwafer, this gives a wafer processing rate less than 0.059 wafers/hr.This is clearly impractical, when competing technologies currentlyprocess wafers for 65 nm and 45 nm generation ICs at rates near 100wafers/hr—over 1,500× faster.

Increasing the power from 1 μW to 1 mW could potentially reduce thewriting time, but will still not achieve the goal. Furthermore, thisdoes not consider the additional time required to move and thenaccurately position the writing element for exposing each spot. LargerIC designs requiring more contact holes would take proportionately moretime.

Parallel writing approaches are therefore the only way wafers can bepractically exposed. One architecture for parallel writing involveswriting several wafers simultaneously using a single data stream, eachwith a single write head. However, mechanical management of the siliconwafers (currently 300 mm in diameter) and the requirement that manywafers be written identically limits the flexibility of such anapproach. Also, the number of wafers processed per hour only increasesby the number of wafers processed in parallel. More than 17 wafers wouldneed to be simultaneously mounted in the above example to achieve anaverage rate of 1 wafer/hr, and any given wafer would still require aninordinately long write time.

Another approach to parallel writing involves configuring severalwriting apertures in an array on an integrated print head, to writeseveral spots simultaneously. The layout data can be prepared to provideseveral data streams, one for each aperture. One possible architecturefor a super-resolution aperture print head for use in high throughputnanolithography is shown in FIG. 6. Here, a linear or 1-D array ofsuper-resolution apertures is formed in a suitable material, coated on asupport structure. Spacing S in one direction is set so that neighboringapertures have a significant degree of overlap as the head is movedorthogonal to that direction (indicated by an arrow in the figure) whilethey are spaced much farther apart in the other dimension (by adimension P in the figure) These apertures can be formed by the sametechniques outlined above for the single fiber case, e.g. FIB or E-beamexposure among others. In this illustration, although the motion of theaperture would be parallel to the line of the array, each aperture isslightly offset in position from the next, such that, as the wafer ismoved beneath the array, individual spots at slightly differentlocations can be written by selectively turning on and off theappropriate aperture. Fine motion of the wafer is therefore notnecessary, and the wafer can be moved using a uniform motion. For bestresults, the exposure characteristics must be carefully synchronizedwith the stage motion to insure accurate spot placement.

The support structure can be any mechanically strong material capable ofsupporting a film that is also transparent to the wavelength to be used.Quartz and sapphire are possible candidates, but other materials knownto be transparent to UV and VUV can be used as well.

An optical source at the exposing wavelength is divided into a parallelnumber of channels, each corresponding to one aperture. Althoughindividual sources can be used, such as an array of Vertical CavitySurface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) for each channel, dividing a singlesource allows power fluctuations to be normalized for all apertures,decreasing susceptibility to random dose variations.

To write individual pixels, each channel is individually modulated toexpose the wafer in accordance with the pattern data provided in themicrodevice layout. There are also one or more location sensors, toalign and orient the printing head with reference locations on thewafer. There are also one or more stabilization sensors combined with acontrol system to maintain the array a particular distance from thesurface being exposed.

The extraordinary transmission of super-resolution apertures such as theC-aperture is related to the electrical conductance and opticalproperties of the material used to form the aperture. Traditionally,materials such as silver or gold have been used to demonstrate thesephenomena using wavelengths such as λ=1 μm, for which both these metalsare clearly conductors (optical properties n=0.272, k=7.07 for Au, wheren and k are the real and imaginary components of the optical index ofrefraction). To achieve similar effects with λ=365 nm, λ=248 nm, orλ=193 nm (lithography wavelengths for which conventional materials andprocesses exist), the material coating in which the aperture exists mustalso be suitably conducting, i.e. have a large k value and small nvalues. Some possible candidate materials are shown below in Table I. Itshould be noted that, for λ=193 nm, silicon may be particularlyattractive, partly because of its conducting properties, but also forthe well developed ability to machine and process the material.

Materials such as aluminum, silver and chromium, when exposed to air,tarnish by forming oxides or other compounds which may affect theirconductivity. Optical properties for some oxides are shown in Table 2.For this reason, any use of a reactive material to provide thesuper-resolution apertures should be encapsulated in a protectivecoating that prevents or retards these decay processes. Controlling theenvironment of the lithography system to eliminate oxygen or otherreactive compounds from the air surrounding the printing head may alsobe used. TABLE I Optical properties for some metals. 1000 nm 365 nm 248nm 193 nm Aluminum (Al) n 1.35 0.407 0.190 0.115 k 9.58 4.43 2.94 2.24Silver (Ag) n 0.226 0.186 1.298 1.02 k 6.99 1.61 1.35 1.17 Gold (Au) n1.35 0.407 0.190 0.115 k 9.58 4.43 2.94 2.24 Platinum (Pt) n 3.33 1.621.36 1.32 k 5.7 2.62 1.76 1.28 Chromium (Cr) n 1.39 0.85 0.842 k 3.242.01 1.647 Silicon (Si) n 4.0 6.522 1.57 0.89 k 0 2.70 3.565 2.80

TABLE II Optical properties for metal oxides. 1000 nm 365 nm 248 nm 193nm Silicon Dioxide (SiO2) n 1.45 1.475 1.508 1.56 k 0 0 0 0 CrO3 n 1.636k 0 0.65 Cr2O3 n 1.76 k 0 0.311

A super-resolution aperture head according to the invention is shown inFIG. 7. FIG. 7 a shows a 3-D view of the writing head, while FIG. 7 bshows a cross section view. Here, light beams 720 illuminate each astructure plate 700, comprising a support material 710 coated with belowwith a light blocking material 720. The light beams may be relayed froma micromirror configuration such as that illustrated in FIG. 18, or maybe individually modulated by other means. In the coating of lightblocking material, the super-resolution apertures 750 are formed. Theinterface between the air and the light blocking material may be coatedin turn with a protective coating 730, to reduce the effects of tarnish,oxidation or other degradation possibilities.

To write many spots simultaneously, an array of apertures in theconducting film is needed. FIG. 6 showed a possible linear, onedimensional array. Two dimensional arrays of super-resolution aperturescan also be used, illustrated in FIG. 8. However, arrays ofsuper-resolution apertures in conducting materials have been known toproduce extraordinary transmission arising from surface plasmons, andcreate bright regions with photons where none are desired. To mitigatethis effect, as illustrated in FIG. 9, an arrayed head of C-aperturesmay have a non-conducting channel or channels 990 formed betweenapertures. Other techniques can also be applied to insulate them fromeach other and ensure a lack of crosstalk.

Referring again to FIG. 8, if the desired distance between exposurespots is distance S, and the spacing allowed between apertures is P,then the number of apertures N required for only a 1-D portion of thearray to write an arbitrary spot on a 10 nm design grid is N=P/S. Forexample, if P=2 μm, and spots must be written with a center locationspecified to within 10 nm, S=10 nm and N=2000/10=200 apertures for a 1-Darray. This is illustrated in FIG. 8. For 5 nm spot placement, anaperture array with N=400 would be required.

Coverage of larger areas can be achieved either by scanning a singlehead with, for example, 1×200 apertures over multiple stripe locationson the wafer, as shown in FIG. 10, or by adding additional apertures toform a two-dimensional array and scanning the 2-dimensional array. It isexpected that data conversion algorithms will be simplest for a squarearray, for example with 400×400=160,000 channels. With 160,000 channels,each causing wafer exposure using 1 μW, exposure of an entire waferwould now require only 0.375 sec, or a rate of 9,600 wafers/hr. Inpractice, this means that the wafer throughput is now limited by theability to drive the head to the required locations, not the serial datalimitations of the write head. However, since this corresponds to anillumination intensity of 1 μW/(10⁻⁶×10⁻⁶ cm²)=1 MW/cm², power densitywould be an issue to also be considered. 1 MW/cm² even for a short timewill damage many materials, particularly absorbing materials or opticaldamage from the illumination of the write head.

We have assumed a square print head configuration for this example, butother rectangular designs or other head configurations may be found tohave practical mechanical properties when used for a head moving at highspeeds in close proximity to a wafer.

The above example assumed 2 μm spacing between exposure elements. Usinga smaller center-to-center spacing would reduce the number of requiredchannels, but require more passes of the head over the wafer to providecoverage of the same area. Similarly, a design grid requiring spotplacement at arbitrary location on a grid smaller than 10 nm wouldindicate that more channels are required. This is assuming that the headis scanned over the wafer in a uniform manner, such as a raster scan.This is usually desired, since the mechanical motions of the scan andtheir associated accelerations and stresses can be quite regular andpredictable and therefore make mechanical design becomes easier. It isconceivable that head designs that can tolerate the rapid accelerationsof arbitrary spot addressing can also be created, making a morearbitrary pattern of motion possible for exposure.

Illumination Methods.

Illumination of the aperture must be provided. The light for eachchannel can be provided in a number of ways. One possible mechanism isto use an individual waveguide 1262 for each channel, such as a fiberoptic waveguide. An array of several waveguides is illustrated in FIG.11. For this embodiment, it is likely that points where light enters thewaveguides would be separate and distinct, so that the light enteringeach waveguide could be easily modulated.

Another configuration, which might prove advantageous for mechanicaldesign of the head, is to convey light from modulators to the aperturesusing free space propagation. This is shown in FIG. 12. In this example,a lens system 1340 would collect the light from each modulator 1332 andimage it on the region of the aperture. Although this imaging systemwould be limited by diffraction, the spots themselves would be definedby the apertures, not the imaged spot size.

The modulator 1332 in this case can be a modulator in transmission, suchas one made of thin film transistors or liquid crystal light values, orone designed to be used in reflection, such as the micromirror arraydeveloped for the maskless approach described previously and illustratedin FIG. 3. The only requirement is that the modulator be able tomodulate at speeds appropriate for the exposure required synchronizedwith the motion of the wafer stage.

The light source itself can be any coherent or partially coherent sourceof photons, as long as the total fluence of the source is enough thateach individual channel has enough to expose a spot in the time allowed.For a system of 160,000 channels of 50 nW incident on each aperture, andwhere each aperture passes 5% of the total incident light, the averagetotal source power would need to be at least 160 mW—a power levelavailable using commercial CW argon ion lasers at 365 nm. Similarsources for 248 nm or 193 nm exposures may require additionalinvestigation.

Thermal Effects.

No matter the final configuration, light which does not pass through theapertures must be accommodated. This may be either reflected back intothe optical system, or partially absorbed by the material forming theC-aperture. In either case, it is possible that the light not used forexposure ends up providing local (and uneven) heating to some part ofthe head, affecting the mechanical properties and possibly the physicaldimensions of the aperture through thermal expansion. Some method ofheat mitigation may therefore be required in the design of the system toanticipate and compensate for these possible thermal effects. This maybe the provision that an active cooling system, such as a thermoelectriccooler, be provided in contact with the writing head, that microchannelsfor cooling fluid be created in the head as it is fabricated, and/orcooling fluids, such as a He or another gas, water, or another fluid beflowed over the head.

Data Channel.

IC layout data is normally in a hierarchical format such as GDS-II orOASIS, and to write a mask or wafer, it must be converted into a patternof on/off signals to drive the modulator. This data conversion processis typically called fracturing. There are several data fracturingapproaches that are currently available already. Furthermore, specialdata compression algorithms to provide data to 1000×1000 pixel spatiallight modulators used in optical maskless systems using micromirrorshave been developed by Zakhor et al. These approaches can be adapted tothe system disclosed here, with the only requirement that the data besynchronized with the position sensors to ensure that the photonmodulation appears on the wafer at the exact time the aperture is overthe spot to be exposed. Consideration of the speed of light through awaveguide delivery system, for example, may be required for preciseexposure of 32 nm spots.

Height Control.

The distance from the aperture to surface must be controlled to provideconsistent, predictable spot sizes. Contemporary systems can control thedistance between mechanical objects to a few tens of run, withtolerances of 1 nm or even less. Well designed scanning probemicroscopes can control these distances on an atomic scale. Eachaperture configuration must be carefully designed and the distancecontrolled such that the shape of the exposed region having an iso-dosecontour from the C-aperture spot matches the shape of the exposure, suchas a contact hole, to be created. If a head with an array of spots isused that extends over a significant area, the wafer must be locallyplanar to the same degree over this area. Although this is commonlyachieved using chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), local topographicvariations from different materials with different polishingcharacteristics, and also due to long range wafer bowing may occur asthe head travels long distances over the wafer. The head therefore mayrequire active flexing to allow the surface of the head to conform tothe local plane of the wafer.

Sensors can therefore be provided to measure the distance to the wafer,and provide a control signal that an active servo loop that adjusts theposition of the head. There are a number of conventional sensors thatcan be applied to this situation. In one possible configuration, anumber of atomic force microscope (AFM) tips 1370 are provided atcertain locations around the head, as shown in FIG. 13. In oneembodiment of the invention, each AFM tip is controlled individually,each with its own feedback system for height control. The head would becontrolled such that the AFM distances are held constant as the headmoves over the wafer.

In another embodiment of the system, as illustrated in FIG. 14, thesensors are interferometers 1470, and infer the distance to the waferusing an interferometric fringe. This has an advantage in that the riskof crashing into the wafer is smaller than with an AFM tip, since theAFM tip is extremely close to the wafer. It can also have certain speedadvantages. However, isolation between the optical path for exposure andfor position sensing must be provided, which may make the opticalfabrication of the head intricate and expensive. Furthermore, theoptical reflection from the wafer may be complicated by multiplereflections from the multiple layers that have already been fabricatedunder the layer being exposed. Care must be taken in the interferometricdesign to ensure an accurate control signal in the presence of thesepossible additional reflections.

The head itself may also be designed to function without active control,but instead be aerodynamically designed to “fly” over the wafer surfaceat a constant height, with that height governed by the air flow over thehead. Commonly used for magnetic recording in which the head flieswithin a few nm of the recording surface, a similar configuration for tofly a head with at least one super-resolution aperture is incorporatedin one embodiment of the invention.

A configuration involving 160,000 spots would, however, require aspecial design not found in conventional magnetic recording heads. Inmagnetic discs, the head velocity is maintained by spinning therecording surface below the head. For an optical recording system and arotating wafer, the on/off control for the modulator must be preciselytimed with the rotation to allow a spot of specific dimensions to bewritten. Synchronization of the modulation with signals from detectorsthat sense relative head position and relative velocity can allowplacement and dimensional control. This is provided by having a sensorsystem that detects wafer position, a data processing system thatprocesses the IC layout data, and a synchronization system whichdetermines the correct exposure timing signals needed to modulate theexposure system to deliver the correct dose to the correct location.With multiple spots in an array, the precise position and speed for eachspot must be determined, to provide the correct on/off behavior to writethe features as desired. Since spots at different distances from thecenter of rotation will move at different linear speeds, a preferredembodiment will have a configuration such as that shown in FIG. 15, inwhich each spot is maintained at a precise distance from the center ofrotation.

Data fracturing for a circular writing plan must also be considered.Normal fracturing algorithms for maskless systems pixilated the layoutand provide it to an array of micromirrors. Data are provided as tiles,at a rate synchronized with the laser pulses. Synchronization ofmodulation for individual features with variable wafer speed is notnecessary. However, with the wafer now moving at various linear speeds,depending on the distance from the center of rotation, the individualhead modulations depend on the local wafer speed. A data fracturingsystem which decomposes the layout modulation signals into tracks, to bewritten in synchronization with the position and velocity feedbacksignals from the wafer, as illustrated in FIG. 16 can improve thewriting performance considerably.

Such a fracturing system, as with conventional fracturing systems, willtypically be implemented using a computer system, comprising dataprocessing circuitry, data storage devices such as disk drives, randomaccess memory circuitry, input and out devices, and a communicationsnetwork or data bus system to facilitate data transfer between thesecomponents.

Light Source.

The light source for exposure would ideally be a single mode, continuouswave (CW) laser which would be split or focused into multiple beams, onefor each modulator channel. The power in each channel would nominally beidentical, although individual control and calibration may be requiredfor the channels as fabricated. The power from the source can bemonitored and coordinated with the wafer position information and themodulator control to ensure that the exposure for each desired spot iscorrect, even if the laser power itself fluctuates. Alternatively, thepower can be controlled to a fixed, constant value very accurately witha conventional “noise eater”, that delivers uniform power to themodulators, eliminating the need for complicated controls on eachchannel, but losing some power at the noise eater to ensure stability.

Modulations as described in the examples here would be at speeds on theorder of 10 MHz. This is easily achievable using many modulationschemes. Alternatively, the laser itself can be operated in a pulsedmode, either using a pulsed source or in a mode-locked configuration. Inthis case, the intensity switches on and off in intense, highlyrepetitive short pulses with a small duty factor (e.g. 10 ns pulses at 2kHz). Such a system would allow the system modulators to act as blankingsystems, opening in synchrony with the pulses and allowing a certainnumber of pulses through to provide the correct dose. This may presentadvantages in modulator design, allowing some jitter in the modulatorchannel itself, since on/off behavior is actually dictated by the laserpulses, which can be quite uniform.

Additionally, another embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIG.17, comprises an additional light source 1700, which can have awavelength different than the wavelength being used for exposure (e.g. ared diode laser light source at λ=680 nm compared to a an exposurewavelength of λ=365 nm.) In a configuration where the red light andexposure light are combined with a beamsplitter 1712, both will passthrough the optical system and fall on the sub-resolution aperture. Somelight of each wavelength will pass through the aperture.

Since most lithography materials are insensitive to light withwavelengths longer than 400 nm, exposure with red light will not causeadditional lithographic reactions. Instead, some light will be reflectedoff the surface of the material being exposed, and will be reflectedback through the aperture. A beamsplitter that separates the twodifferent wavelengths directs the shorter wavelength light to a detectoror sensor. Signal processing circuitry can be used to infer from theshorter wavelength signal the distance between the aperture and thewafer, as in the previous interferometer configuration of FIG. 14. Itcan also be used to infer the amount of exposure received, by, forexample, detecting the change in the wavefront as the refractive indexof the exposed material changes with exposure.

1. A nanolithography system, comprising a light source, at least onemodulation channel at least one lens, a writing head comprising at leastone super-resolution aperture, a stage to hold a material to be exposed,optical components to direct light from the source through the at leastone modulation channel and at least one lens onto the at least onesuper-resolution aperture, and a control system to set the position ofthe super-resolution aperture relative to the material being exposed. 2.The nanolithography system of claim 1, in which the super-resolutionaperture is a C-aperture.
 3. The nanolithography system of claim 1, inwhich the super-resolution aperture is a bow-tie shaped aperture.
 4. Thenanolithography system of claim 1, in which the control system comprisesat least one atomic force microscope tip.
 5. The nanolithography systemof claim 1, in which the control system comprises at least oneinterferometer.
 6. The nanolithography system of claim 1, additionallycomprising an additional light source, having a different wavelengththan the light source used for exposure, a sensor for the additionallight source, arranged such that both light from the light source andthe additional light source pass through the super-resolution aperture,and in which light from the additional light source which is reflectedfrom the surface being exposed passes again through the aperture beforebeing detected by the sensor.
 7. An optical waveguide, comprising atleast one face oriented orthogonally to the propagation direction in thewaveguide, an opaque coating on the at least one face, in which aportion has been removed to form a super-resolution aperture.
 8. Thewaveguide of claim 7, in which the super-resolution aperture is aC-aperture.
 9. The waveguide of claim 7, in which the super-resolutionaperture is a bow-tie aperture.
 10. A method for fabricating an opticalwaveguide illuminator, comprising coating the end of the waveguide witha particularly selected material, exposing portions of the material to afocused ion beam to remove some of the material in a predefined pattern.11. A method for fabricating an optical waveguide illuminator,comprising coating the end of the waveguide with a particularly selectedmaterial, coating the material with a resist sensitive to electron beamexposure, exposing portions of the material to an electron beam in apredefined pattern, developing the resist and etching the portion of theparticularly selected material revealed, and removing the remainingresist.
 12. The method of claims 10, 11 or 12 in which the speciallyselected material is an electrically conducting material.
 13. The methodof claims 10, 11 or 12 in which the specially selected material is asemiconducting material.
 14. The method of claims 10, 11 or 12 in whichthe predefined aperture is a C-aperture.
 15. A optical exposureapparatus for forming sub-resolution exposure spots, comprising a thinfilm of specially selected material, in which at least onesuper-resolution aperture has been formed; a support structure for thefilm; an optical illumination source that directs light onto the atleast one super-resolution aperture; a modulator that controls theintensity of the light falling on the at least one super-resolutionaperture.
 16. The optical exposure apparatus of claim 15, comprising aplurality of super-resolution apertures, in which the apertures areoffset from one another by a predetermined spacing.
 17. The opticalexposure apparatus of claim 15, in which the at least onesuper-resolution aperture is a C-aperture.
 18. The optical exposureapparatus of claim 15, in which the illumination source directs lightonto the super-resolution apertures by means of an optical waveguide.19. The optical exposure apparatus of claim 15, in which theillumination source directs light onto the super-resolution apertures bymeans of an optical waveguide.
 20. The optical exposure apparatus ofclaim 16 in which the illumination source directs light onto thesuper-resolution apertures by means of free space propagation.
 21. Alithography tool for writing nanoscale features, comprising anillumination source; a beam splitter to divide the source into aplurality of beams, a modulator provided for each beam; a plurality ofsuper-resolution apertures formed in a particularly selected material, asupport structure for the super-resolution apertures, and a means ofdirecting each beam onto a super-resolution aperture.
 22. Thelithography tool of claim 21, in which the super-resolution aperture isa C-aperture.
 23. An optical device, comprising a support structurecoated with a particularly selected material in which at least onesuper-resolution aperture has been created; and a means for illuminatingeach super-resolution aperture optically, and a means for modulating theillumination of each super-resolution aperture independently.